Forensic science and solid police work have led to the arrest of a suspect in an 11-month-old crime that jarred a Brampton neighbourhood awake to the sound of gunfire.
Peel Regional Police 22 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives arrested Naqash Abbasi, 23, of Mississauga, yesterday (Thursday) and laid a slew of charges— 10 in all— in connection to shots fired through the front window of a house on Tullamore Road last Feb. 9.
Investigators now allege the shooting was an attempt to intimidate a witness in an upcoming criminal trial.
Police say 10 rounds were fired at the house from the street from a .223 calibre gun. It was the middle of the night, just after 1 a.m., and the sound jarred residents awake, including the seven inside the two-storey home, located in the area of Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East. The bullets pierced the front bay window of the main floor living room, but no one was hit and no one was hurt, according to police.
All seven residents had been asleep upstairs at the time. The shooting prompted a flurry of 911 calls, but police say they believe the shooter drove to the street and had driven away before they arrived.
No arrests were made and no suspects were ever identified publicly.
Three months later, in an unrelated incident, Abbasi was arrested and charged with breaking a pool cue over someone’s head during a Mississauga bar fight. It was discovered he had two firearms registered to him, one of them a Norinco CQ-A 5.56x45mm/ .223 Remington calibre semi-automatic rifle. He was charged with assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon in relation to the bar fight. He was released on recognizance, but ordered to turn in his guns.
Once they were turned in to Peel police, investigators obtained a warrant so they could send the Norinco rifle to the Center of Forensic Sciences for testing. The forensic test results have reportedly concluded the rifle was the firearm used in the Tullamore Road shooting, police said.
Abbasi now faces charges of intimidation of a justice system participant, assault with a weapon, careless use of a weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm at an unauthorized place, having a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, mischief endangering life and using a firearm in the commission of an offence,
He was held in custody pending a bail hearing.